The present invention relates generally to vehicle safety and indicator systems, and more particularly to helmet-based indicator lights for two-wheeled vehicles.
There are many devices available for adjunct visual warning that a vehicle is slowing down or stopping besides factory installed brake lights. Studies show that an increase in visual warning when a vehicle is braking reduces rear end collisions. A report published by the NTSB in march of 1998 states that the third brake light, or Center HIgh Mounted Signal Lamp (CHIMSL), mandated for all cars built after 1986, prevents at least 92,000 crashes each year and 58,000 injuries; a reduction of about 4.3%.
Many of the aftermarket braking devices are relatively inexpensive and easy to install, but typically haven't sold well because, like life insurance, they are not something people think about. Safety devices in general are a hard sell and most existing products on the market are not interesting to use or pleasing aesthetically. No commercially-available CHIMSL system for two-wheeled vehicles currently exists.
The present system may solve these problems and others by providing a CHIMSL indicator lamp mounted in or on a helmet, for use with two-wheeled vehicles, in communication with a sensor and processor system that uses sensed the decrease in velocity to activate the indicator lamp. In some cases, this would optimally be the rate of decrease in forward velocity of the vehicle.
As a non-limiting example, the preferred embodiment of the system may include a helmet with an indicator lamp housing and battery removably mounted to the helmet. A processor, accelerometer, and gyroscope contained within the lamp housing may be programmed with software to determine when a braking event is occurring, then activate the braking indicator lamp on the helmet, to act as a CHIMSL for the vehicle.